Color front cover for One Piece volume 57, "Ultimate Showdown." Whitebeard dominates the composition with his crescent mustache and cape, while Luffy charges forward in the foreground. Around them are many Marineford War figures and Whitebeard-affiliated pirates, including Ace, Jinbe, Marco, Jozu, Vista and other combatants. The Japanese cover text identifies the volume and Eiichiro Oda as author. This is not a story page for chapter 552 itself, but it is official volume artwork introducing the war-focused volume that begins with this chapter.
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Full wraparound-style volume cover image for One Piece volume 57. The left side repeats the volume's Marineford artwork with Whitebeard looming over Luffy, Ace and the Whitebeard Pirates, while the spine shows the One Piece title and a small crop of the cover art. The right side is a pale map-like background with Jump Comics and Shueisha markings. The page functions as book packaging art rather than narrative content, but it preserves the official volume presentation around chapter 552 and the beginning of the "Ultimate Showdown" volume.
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Additional volume 57 cover or frontispiece art in grayscale. Luffy rushes forward through a forest-like scene with a large fist extended and a piece of meat in his mouth. Nami sits behind him, Zoro rests with his swords, and other Straw Hat crew members are arranged among leaves, food and giant animal-like forms. The page is labeled "Volume 57: 'Ultimate Showdown'" with Eiichiro Oda's name. It is not part of the Marineford story sequence, but it is official volume artwork associated with the start of this volume.
LuffyNamiZoroSanjiChopperRobinFrankyBrookStraw Hat PiratesEiichiro Oda
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Volume recap and cast guide page titled "The Story of One Piece, Vol. 1 to 56." It summarizes that Luffy infiltrated Impel Down to rescue Ace, learned Ace had already been taken to Marine Headquarters, teamed up with escaped big-name pirates, and headed for Marine HQ. It also explains that Ace is revealed as the Pirate King Gol D. Roger's son, causing the Marines to commit to total war with Whitebeard and his fleet. Character panels identify the Four Emperors and Whitebeard Pirates, the Royal Shichibukai, Marines, Luffy's group, and Ace, including Whitebeard, Marco, Jozu, Shanks, Mihawk, Doflamingo, Kuma, Moria, Hancock, Sengoku, Aokiji, Akainu, Kizaru, Garp, Ivankov, Jimbei, Crocodile, Mr. 1, Buggy and Mr. 3.
LuffyPortgas D. AceWhitebeardMarcoJozuShanksDracule MihawkDonquixote DoflamingoBartholomew KumaGecko MoriaBoa HancockSengokuAokijiAkainuKizaruMonkey D. GarpEmporio IvankovJimbeiCrocodileMr. 1BuggyMr. 3Gol D. Roger
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Contents page for One Piece volume 57, "Ultimate Showdown." It lists the chapters contained in the volume: Chapter 552, "Ace and Whitebeard"; Chapter 553, "Ultimate Showdown"; Chapter 554, "Admiral Akainu"; Chapter 555, "Oars and the Conical Hat"; Chapter 556, "Justice Will Prevail!"; Chapter 557, "Luffy and Whitebeard"; Chapter 558, "Brother"; Chapter 559, "Karma"; Chapter 560, "The Prisoners of Impel Down"; Chapter 561, "Luffy vs Mihawk"; and Chapter 562, "Pirate Whirlpool Spider Squardo." A note says that because one chapter had fewer pages, the volume will have eleven chapters.
Portgas D. AceWhitebeardAkainuOars Jr.LuffyJimbeiCrocodileBuggyDracule MihawkSquardo
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Chapter title page: Chapter 552, "Ace and Whitebeard." The cover begins Chopper's short focused serial, "Chopper's 'I'm Not Food, Damn It!'" with No. 1 titled "The Tanuki Hotpot Flees." Chopper runs in panic from several large birds or tanuki-like island dwellers carrying long spears, while huge trees and round shapes fill the strange forest around them. This cover is separate from Marineford's war, but it starts Chopper's separated adventure and suggests that the locals are chasing him as if he were something to cook.
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At Marineford, Whitebeard's ships stand inside the bay while the Marines stare from the plaza. Ivankov tells Luffy, "We're through the gate!! Now then, my concern is whether your and Ace's father is going to show up here or not!!!" Luffy is confused and asks, "Mine and Ace's?" When Ivankov says Ace's father is Gol D. Roger, Luffy answers that Ace and he do not have the same father. He casually explains that Dragon would do nothing when his own son is about to be executed because Ace has never met him and gets mad if Luffy brings it up. The ship then crashes through the waves, startling the escapees.
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Whitebeard makes his first move. The sea heaves into an enormous wave around Marineford, and Marines scream as they realize the scale of the attack. One asks what the explosion was, another says it is not good and points to the height of the wave, while Luffy, watching from afar, says he still cannot see because the mist is too thick. Sengoku recognizes the danger and calls it a seaquake. Whitebeard cracks the air with both hands, and the Marines ask whether the air itself is cracking. The quake power throws the battlefield into chaos before a single ordinary exchange of fire begins.
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Ace remembers the beginning of his pirate life. As a young captain, he tells Luffy, "Yeah! See ya, Luffy...!! I'll be going on ahead!!" and says that in three years, when Luffy sets out to sea, Ace will have gotten stronger too. Pirates react to the Spade Pirates' flag, saying they have never seen it before and wondering where this boy came from. Others note that Ace's background is a mystery, that he is only a rookie, and that he has a Logia ability. Whitebeard notices him, laughs "Gurarara..." and remarks that a promising young pirate is making a name for himself on the Grand Line.
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In the flashback, Ace finally meets the Whitebeard Pirates. Whitebeard asks, "You wanted to see me?" while Ace says he hears Whitebeard saved Luffy's life, that Luffy talks about him all the time, and that Ace figured he had to at least meet him and say thanks. Shanks, hearing Ace is Luffy's brother, is delighted and asks how Luffy is doing. Jimbei blocks Ace's path, saying that although he is not a member of the Whitebeard Pirates, he owes them a debt and will face Ace himself. Ace recognizes him: "That guy...!! That's Jimbei!!"
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Ace and Jimbei's duel drags on until both sides are exhausted. Jimbei says, "It's been five days, and they're still at it...!!" and warns Ace, "You're gonna kill yourselves at this rate...!!" Ace asks who wishes to take Whitebeard's head, and Whitebeard answers that he will face him just as he desires and requires no assistance. The Whitebeard Pirates gather while Ace prepares to continue. Whitebeard launches the attack "Enjou-mou!!!" or "Blazing Net," and Ace's crew screams for him as the Emperor steps forward to settle the challenge himself.
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Ace's crewmates shout, "Cap-tain!!!" and "Cap'n Ace!! What are you doing!?" as Ace orders them to run. Whitebeard asks if Ace has lost his nerve, but Ace says he is not running. Instead, Ace intends to let his crew escape and stay behind in return. He screams through the fire and smoke, refusing to abandon the fight. Whitebeard watches him and comments, "Well, well, well... What an impertinent brat..." The page frames Ace's stubbornness as both reckless and loyal: he will not let his crew die for his own vendetta against Whitebeard.
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Whitebeard defeats Ace but refuses to kill him. He laughs, "Gurarara... so you still stand...!!" and tells Ace, "This is no place for you to die, boy." If Ace still has fight in his heart, Whitebeard tells him to take his name upon his back and rage across the seas to his heart's content. Then he extends his hand and says, "Become a son of mine!!!" Ace stares in shock and protests, "Don't screw with me...!!" Later, when Ace wakes aboard the ship, Thatch introduces himself as commander of the Fourth Division and says that if Ace will be one of them, they should get along.
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Thatch tells Ace that his crew was returned to him and is alive on the ship, and Ace asks whether they are sure they want him aboard without chains or cuffs. Later that night, Ace tries to assassinate Whitebeard while the old man sleeps, but Whitebeard simply catches or throws him aside. The crew wakes up and shouts that it is the middle of the night and asks what Ace thinks he is doing. Ace falls into the sea, and someone asks whether anybody is going to get him. The scene shows that Whitebeard's offer did not instantly tame Ace, but the crew keeps dealing with him as if he already belongs.
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Ace keeps trying to kill Whitebeard day after day. Someone asks if it has been one hundred times by now, and another says it has. Marco notes that Ace is stubborn every single day. Ace then asks why all of them call Whitebeard their "old man" when the world hates them for what they are. Marco answers simply, "Because... he calls us his sons." Ace is startled. Marco says even if it is just a word, it makes them happy. He tells Ace he hopes he will not keep up the nonsense forever, because Ace made a decision: either leave the ship now or stay and bear Whitebeard's mark.
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Ace earns his place among the Whitebeard Pirates. After he has gone and done it again, someone reports that he made the Doma gang surrender. Ace says it has been ages without a commander for the Second Division and asks if he is supposed to command it, but the crew says everyone thinks he is the man for the job. Teach laughs that he does not have that kind of ambition and encourages Commander Ace. Later, Ace asks Whitebeard if he is not like his enemy Roger in personality and whether he will throw him out. Whitebeard laughs and says it does not matter who brought someone into the world: all humans are sons and daughters of the sea.
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The flashback reaches Ace's decision to pursue Teach. The crew tries to stop him, warning, "Ace!!! Calm down, would you!?" and saying he does not have to go after Teach because the old man said this is a special case. Ace refuses, saying Thatch was a member of his division and asking what will become of poor Thatch's soul if he lets his killer go. Whitebeard says this once is enough and that he has a very bad feeling. Ace argues that Teach killed his crewmate and fled after decades under Whitebeard's care, bringing shame to all of them. With his father's name at stake, Ace says he is going to settle it.
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Back in the present, Ace kneels on the execution platform and breaks down. He says, "Old man... guys... even after I ignored your warnings and ran out on my own... why couldn't you have just forgotten about me!? It's my own fault I ended up like this...!!!" Whitebeard denies that, saying, "No... as I recall, it was I who told you to go after him, my son." Ace is stunned because he knows that is not true. Whitebeard takes the blame himself before the entire battlefield, refusing to let Ace carry the guilt alone.
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Ace shouts, "You liar...!!" but Whitebeard tells Marco that he did tell Ace to go, and asks if that is right. Marco answers that he heard it with his own ears, and the rest of the crew agrees, apologizing for putting Ace through the trouble. They declare that everyone in the whole wide ocean ought to know what happens to any fool who lays a hand on a member of their crew. The Whitebeard Pirates shout from their ships, "You just wait!!! We're coming to get you!!" and "We won't leave a single one of those bastards who hurt you alive, Ace!!!"
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Ace trembles and tells Marine Headquarters to wait. On the platform, Aokiji says the enemy has earned their situation, Kizaru wonders what Ace is babbling about at this stage, and Akainu calls it unpleasant. The Shichibukai feel the rumbling, while Marines identify the cause: Edward "Whitebeard" Newgate, user of the Gura Gura no Mi, an earthquake man. The seaquake he caused is returning as a full-fledged tsunami. A Marine warns that they may have the greater force, but they must not take the opportunity lightly, because they may meet their end here today for that man.
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The battle begins. Pirates shout "Attack!!!" while commanders and Marines stare down the incoming waves. Narration states that on the attack are a fleet of forty-seven New World pirate ships under Whitebeard's banner, and on the defense are the two great governmental powers: Marine Headquarters and the Royal Shichibukai. As the tsunami towers over Marineford, Sengoku says Whitebeard has the power to destroy this very world. The final narration declares that no matter who prevails or who falls, the world is about to change. The war for Ace has fully opened.
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End of chapter22 pages
Discussion
p10Ace plants his flag and uses a fire-based attack.
p11Ace refuses to abandon his crew during the confrontation with Whitebeard.
p11Whitebeard proposes a conditional deal involving the crew's escape.
p12Whitebeard formally invites Ace to join his crew as a son.
p12Ace remains defiant yet visibly shaken by Whitebeard's proposal.
p13Ace attempts a nighttime assassination attempt on Whitebeard.